RECOGNIZING THAT EXCESS DEMAND. Inside Higher Ed interviews Professor William C. Dowling, whose recent Confessions of a Spoilsport takes on the anti-intellectualism of College as Beer and Circus. Within the interview is an observation that is germane, whether one views intercollegiate athletics as inconsistent with the academic mission or as great entertainment. (Disclaimer: my loyalty to some of the non-revenue sports has been purchased by acts of kindness from assorted coaching staff.)

As for “imitating” the Ivy League, that’s the first accusation any Division I-A booster will throw at you when you suggest that a state university might be serving a worthier purpose. But think about it for a second. There was a time when all public institutions saw themselves as being in the same business as Harvard and Yale and the others — not as demanding intellectually, perhaps, and not quite as ambitious in their curricula, but basically as being devoted to shaping the minds of educated men and women who would then carry their values back into the larger society, providing a certain wisdom and perspective to those who hadn’t gone on to higher education.

Precisely. Whether one wishes to turf out the bowl hype and the bracket heads or not, "being in the same business" is not a bad objective, particularly in an environment where the U.S. News rankings and their competitors reflect excess demand for serious higher education, in which beer-and-circus is a possible source, but not the only source, of disaffection with the less-renowned universities.